XMen: Alpha Episode IV: Weapon X
by wiley21
Summary: The XMen rescue a mysterious mutant from a paramilitary organization and the team's true enemy finally emerges.
1. Part One

**X-Men: Alpha**

**Episode IV**

**Weapon X**

**Part One**

Snow swirled outside the window as Dr. Cornelius wiped the top of his bald head with a handkerchief.

The scientist stood in the hallway outside his laboratory. He had been working on a special project for months.

Tonight, the powers that be were coming to inspect his progress. It was an important project and it hadn't gone as smoothly as he had hoped.

Footfalls became audible from down the hall. Cornelius turned to face three men in military fatigues. The man leading the way had a cigar in his mouth and a stern expression on his face.

"Dr. Abraham Cornelius?" he said.

"Yes."

The man removed his cigar and released a breath full of smoke. "Colonel Jonathan Wraith, Department H. I'm here to check on our boy."

Cornelius waved his hand in front of his face to encourage the smoke to disperse. "Of course, right this way, sir."

The scientist led the soldier through a door to their left and into his laboratory. The men stepped up to a large glass tube filled with a greenish liquid.

A young man floated in the fluid. Several wires and tubes protruded from him and a bizarre looking helmet was on his head. "Well, Colonel, this is Weapon X."

"Weapon X? What about the name he already had?"

"He will still respond to it. Weapon X is merely the name of the project."

Wraith narrowed his eyes as he circled the tube. "What exactly is it you did to him?"

"We grafted a rare metal called adamantium to his skeleton."

"Adamantium? Never heard of it."

"As I said, it's rare. Nonetheless, it is virtually indestructible."

"An indestructible skeleton added with that mutant healing thing of his, huh. That could make him one tough guy to kill."

"Nearly impossible, I would say."

The Colonel took a closer look. "Is he sedated or something?"

Cornelius dabbed a bit of sweat from his forehead. "Actually, we're not entirely sure why he is unconscious."

Wraith slowly turned to face the scientist. "What?"

"Well, you see," Cornelius nervously clutched his handkerchief. "He slipped into something of a coma after the procedure."

"Something of a coma? What the hell is 'something' of a coma?"

"Well..."

"Listen up, Doc! That freak is important to the Department!"

"I-I know, sir, but..."

"We've spent 16 years training that kid! That's a significant investment and if you've..."

A soft bubbling sound attracted both of their attentions. The men looked to the tube.

Wraith glanced at Cornelius. "Did he just move?"

"I-I don't know."

As the Colonel stepped closer, he noticed the subject's hand twitch slightly. Suddenly, his fist clinched and three metal claws extended from between his knuckles.

Before Wraith could recoil, Weapon X punched through the glass and slashed him across the face. His cigar fell to the floor.

Cornelius stumbled backward as his project smashed it's way out of the tube. Before the doctor could make his way out the door, Weapon X grabbed him and threw him against the wall.

"Help!! Guards!! Gua..." The last words of Abraham Cornelius ended with a sickening gargle as three adamantium claws plunged into his throat.

The guards stepped into the room a few seconds too late. The two immediately opened fire. Bullet after bullet found its mark.

Weapon X dropped to the ground. His helmet fell from his head.

The guards etched closer, keeping their rifles trained on their target. Suddenly, the mutant sprang to his feet. His wounds had healed and a murderous glint was in his dark eyes.

The guards opened fire again, but this time Weapon X dove forward and drove his claws into each of their chests.

The project rose from the bodies of his victims. Blood trickled from his claws. Slowly the metallic weapons retracted into his hands.

The mutant reached down and picked up Wraith's cigar.

After taking a deep drag, he tossed it back to the ground and walked out of the room.

-X-

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mayor Robert Kelly."

Hundreds of New Yorkers applauded as Mayor Kelly stepped up to the podium on the steps of City Hall. Even though weeks had past, both Kelly and the building still showed signs of the mutant attack.

"Citizens of New York, I stand before you a changed man. I have lived my entire life believing that our society was safe. However, recent events have opened my eyes. We are now faced with a terrifying threat, the threat of mutants."

Henry Gyrich scanned the crowd. The people hung on Kelly's every word. He knew that the Mayor's Senate campaign would go smoothly. The incumbent was not particularly popular at the moment.

Still, it was important that Kelly come out strong.

"Mutants walk among us every day. There may even be some here at this very moment. These 'people' possess incredible power. I have seen it first hand. Their powers have made them think they are above the rest of us. Above our rules, above our laws and above our rights as citizens of this great country."

"They believe that they can do whatever they want whenever they want, to whomever they want. So far your leaders have done nothing to deal with this menace, but let me assure you that I will!"

Kelly slammed his fist down on the podium as the crowd applauded wildly.

"It is with your safety and well-being in mind that I hereby announce my candidacy for Senate!"

The crowd exploded as Kelly waved to them. He stepped from behind the podium and began shaking hands.

Gyrich watched with a smile on his face.

This was going to be easier than he thought.

-X-

Charles Xavier watched the televised speech with growing trepidation. He held his chin as he witnessed the repercussions of James Beckett's attack on City Hall.

"That's because of James, isn't it?"

Xavier didn't even flinch at the sudden sound of Storm's voice. He had sensed her enter his study a few seconds before she spoke.

"Not entirely, my dear, though it was definitely a contributing factor."

Storm sat down in front of his desk and glanced to the television. "All he's doing is stirring the pot."

"Well, exploiting the fears and prejudices of the common man is hardly uncharted territory in the realm of politics."

"There are mutants who aren't going too responded kindly to this."

"True. I suppose we will have to keep on our toes."

"Isn't there anything we can do about this? I mean, we have to speak up and defend ourselves."

"On the surface that would seem like an ideal solution. However, I don't think that exposing ourselves to that kind of publicity in this stage of our existence would be prudent."

"I guess you know best. It just sucks that we have to just sit here and take it."

"I know, Ororo. Nonetheless, we must exercise patience. I fear this may only be the beginning."

-X-

Rogue glanced around her as the men circled.

Her fists clinched as she prepared for their attack. Seconds later, they charged her.

Rogue took the defensive blocking punches and kicks. Normally this fight would have been over already, but she was a bit preoccupied.

She hadn't been able to forget the X-Men's struggle with the Sentinel. She had felt completely helpless. She was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and could drop someone with a mere touch.

Unfortunately, neither of those things would have had any effect on that robotic monstrosity. Even Cyclops' plan of attack had no place for her.

Becoming a burden on the team was not something she was prepared to let happen.

Just as that thought finished, she was struck in the side of the head. Rogue was able to tumble away. When she came to her feet, a disturbing glint in her eye signified that the time for defense was over.

She hurled herself at her attackers. The first two were treated to devastating punches to the face. Another was kicked in the ribs and then had an elbow driven into the back of his skull.

A fourth tried to strike but his attack was avoided and a quick sweep took him to the ground. Rogue dropped her knee down on his face and looked up just in time to catch the foot of her final opponent as he tried to kick her.

With a twist of his leg, Rogue took him down and quickly pounced on him. Once she had straddled him, she drove her fist into his face again and again and again. Before she was done, he faded and disappeared.

When she looked around to see what happened, a towel was tossed toward her.

"I wasn't done." She said as she snagged the towel out of midair.

Cyclops stood over her. "That kind of brutality is unnecessary."

"All of the sweet things in life are."

"I guess I can't argue with that." The leader of the X-Men offered her his hand.

She smiled and took it. "What are ya doin' in here anyway, Watchin' me?"

"Would that be a problem?"

"I guess not." She did her best to seem like she didn't care. In truth, the idea that Scott was paying her that kind of attention was the best news she'd heard in some time.

"Good. Listen, have you seen..."

"_Oh, God. If he says Jean, I'm gonna kill her..." _She thought. _"...then him."_

"...Dr. McCoy?"

"Oh. No."

"Well, I need to see if I can find him."

"I'll go with ya."

Scott seemed a little surprised. "Oh. Alright."

"What? Why do you look so shocked?"

"You really don't make efforts to be around other people very often."

"If you don't want me ta go..."

"No. No, it's fine. It's just a little surprising."

"Well, I'm a surprising person."

"You don't have to tell me." Scott steps aside and motions to the door. "After you."

As the two walked down the halls of the Institute, Rogue wanted to ask an important question. However, she wasn't sure if it was the best idea.

She glanced to him every so often to try and gauge his mood, but without being able to look him in the eye, it was difficult.

"Why don't you just say whatever it is you want to say?"

Rogue nearly jumped at his sudden directness. "Sorry. It's just kinda touchy."

"I can handle it."

"Ok. Well, I was just wonderin', with Jean havin' a boyfriend now, are you gonna start lookin' elsewhere?"

"Jean is the one for me. Unfortunately, I haven't told her that. I don't think this thing with Duncan is going to last. Eventually, Jean is going to realize that he's a jerk and dump him. I can wait til then."

"And if she don't?"

Scott seemed disheartened at the thought. "I guess I'll need to move on."

Rogue tried not to seem too happy as the two reached the stairway that lead to the Institute's front entrance. "That would be too bad."

Cyclops stopped in his tracks. "Are you smiling?"

She quickly wiped the smirk from her face. "No."

"Yes, you were. Look, I know you don't like Jean but would you really like to see her get stuck with Duncan?"

"Oh, please. Believe it or not, Scott, the whole world don't revolve around Jean."

"Then why would you be happy if that happened?"

Rogue looked at him for a minute. In her head, she weighted the consequences of what she was about to say.

"Ok, listen. This ain't easy fer me. I like..." A loud knocking on the Institute's door interrupted her. "Aw dammit! Just a sec."

She stomped to the door and flung it open.

"What the hell do...!" Rogue froze in mid-sentence. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. She trembled and began to slowly back away from the door.

A tall man with thick white hair stepped in. A smug smile was spread across his face. "Hello, Rogue. It has been a while."


	2. Part Two

**X-Men: Alpha**

**Episode IV**

**Weapon X**

**Part Two**

_**Caldecott County, Mississippi...**_

_**3 years ago...**_

Marie burst through the gate that lead into the yard. Tears streamed down her face as she flung open the door to her house.

"Mama! Mama!"

"Marie?" A middle-aged brown haired woman stepped out from the den.

Marie ran into her arms. "Mama! I touched this boy at school and he passed out! They said he could die!"

"Hush now, sugah." Her mother said as she stroked her hair. "There ain't no reason ta fret."

"But he was twitchin' and starin' up at the ceiling! I-I think I can...hear his voice! In my head!"

"Its ok. Yer just comin' into yer own. Yer realizin' that yer special."

Marie looked up to her. "Special?"

"That's right." She wiped a tear from her daughter's eye. "You've got a special gift that normal people don't."

"I don't want it!"

"Oh, come on now, sugah. Everyone says that at first, but yer gonna come to see that this gift makes you better than normal people."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Better?"

"That's right, child."

Marie spun around to see a tall, white-haired man emerge from the den. "Who are you?"

"My name is Eric Lehnsherr. I'm a...friend of your mother's." Lehnsherr slowly stepped closer to the girl. "You have discovered that you are a mutant, a member of a superior race."

Marie stumbled backwards. "Mama?"

"There ain't no need to be scared, Marie."

"Your mother is correct. I mean you no harm. I only wish for you to understand your place in this world."

"What place?"

Lehnsherr knelt down and extended his hand to her. "At the top of the food chain."

Marie looked at him and then her mother. Reassured by her smile, Marie slowly reached out and took Lehnsherr's gloved hand.

-X-

Lehnsherr slowly approached Rogue as the girl cowered away from him.

"What's wrong, child? You act as though you've seen a ghost."

"S-Stay away from me!" Rogue tried to sound fierce but what came out was practically a whimper.

A small smirk edged Lehnsherr's face as he continued to approach. However, it vanished quickly as he was faced with his reflection in a pair of red sunglasses.

"Back off. Now." Cyclops' voice was even, but his tone made it quite clear that he was not fooling around.

Lehnsherr's eyes narrowed. Such disrespect was not often tolerated by him.

"I said," Cyclops reached up to his glasses and poised to remove them. "back off."

A loud thunder crack was heard and flashes of light emanated through the windows.

"Eric."

All three mutants looked to the top of the stairs. Storm stood tall, her eyes a pale white. Next to her, Xavier sat in his chair with his eyes firmly focused on his guest.

"Perhaps we should speak in private."

"Perhaps we should." Lehnsherr walked past Scott and leveled one more glance at Rogue before making his way up the stairs.

Storm simply watched him pass as he and the Professor headed for his study. "Ok, who is that guy?"

"I don't know. Rogue?" As Rogue looked him in the eye, Scott saw something he had seen from her before. Absolute terror.

"Rogue? Who is he?"

"Nobody!!" Rogue suddenly jumped to her feet and nearly knocked him down. She ran up the stairs and in the direction of her room.

"Rogue?! What's...?" Storm's question was cut off by a slamming door. She turned to face Cyclops.

"I don't think she wants to talk about it." He said.

"I guess not."

-X-

As Xavier and Lehnsherr entered his study, the door shut behind them.

Lehnsherr glanced over his shoulder to see McCoy standing behind him. "Some sort of hired goon, Charles?"

McCoy cocked an eyebrow. "Hardly."

"I see. Just another mutant lead astray by your idealist rhetoric."

"Is there something you needed, Eric?"

Lehnsherr turned back to the Professor. "I have come to inform you of something."

"And that would be?"

"As you no doubt have known for some time, I have recovered from the, lets just say, incident."

Xavier only nodded.

"Now that I have regained my strength, it is time for my associates and I to pick up where we left off."

The Professor shook his head. "Eric..."

"Save your breath, Charles. I'm not here to debate with you."

"Then perhaps I am missing the point of your visit."

"I am simply offering a warning."

Xavier's eyebrows rose. "A warning? Odd, I was under the impression that you didn't like me."

"Make no mistake. I hate you. I am disgusted and repulsed by you. I would love nothing more than to take that chair of yours and wrap it around your traitorous neck!"

"Fair enough. Then why a warning?"

"It is not for you, but for your so-called students. You have had every opportunity to change your ways, but I have no desire to harm such young and capable mutants. They have been brainwashed by your foolishness."

"They are all here of their own free will. They have already seen the kinds of evils a few misguided mutants and humans can do. Yet, they stay committed to peace between our kinds."

Lehnsherr narrowed his eyes as he glared down at Xavier. "Suit yourself, Charles, but be warned. If your followers stand against me they will pay dearly."

McCoy stepped aside as Lehnsherr made his way to the door.

"Eric."

Lehnsherr glanced over his shoulder.

"It doesn't have to be this way. We were friends once."

"That is in the past. You have betrayed me and all mutants. That can never be forgiven. Goodbye, Charles."

Xavier hung his head as McCoy followed Lehnsherr out of the room. He had always hoped that he could convince Eric to give his plan of peace a chance to succeed.

However, each time the two crossed paths, his hopes diminished further.

"Charles?"

Xavier looked up as Dr. McCoy returned to the room. "Yes, Hank?"

"Lehnsherr left peacefully."

"Good. Was there anything else?"

"Yes actually. There was an incident last night in Canada."

-X-

Kitty entered the ballroom proudly displaying her elegant gown.

She crossed the dance floor in search of him.

A hand gently touching her shoulder caused her to stop. She turned to face him.

Their eyes met and he took her by the hand.

Without a word spoken between them, they walked to the center of the floor underneath a pristine crystal chandelier.

He took her in his arms and they danced as all the other couples stopped and watched in admiration or envy.

They didn't care which.

The long skirt of Kitty's dress twirled as they moved about. Though their bodies were in constant motion, their eyes remained locked.

It was as if they held one another in a trance.

As their dance reached it's apex, he spun her around and ended in a dip.

The other couples applauded and then returned to their own business.

Kitty was slowly lifted back up to her feet. "This has been the greatest night of my life. I'm so happy to be with you..."

"...Kurt."

"It is I, who is ze lucky one, miene Liebe."

The two leaned in to kiss. Just before their lips met something grabbing Kitty's shoulder and shook.

"Kitty?"

"Ah!" Kitty jolted awake to find herself in the study at the Institute. A geometry book was open before her, and sheets of notebook paper fell to the floor.

Storm knelt down to help her gather the scattered pages. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, fine. I guess I just dozed off."

"You must have been having a good dream."

Kitty stared at her for a moment. "How did you know that?"

"You were smiling. People only smile in their sleep when they're having a good dream."

"Ok, well, I guess I was."

Storm sat patiently for a moment. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Well, what was your dream about?"

"Oh." As Kitty relayed the details of her dream, she noticed that Storm's eyebrows peaked when she mentioned Kurt. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, I just assumed the guy was Bobby."

"Why?"

"I don't know, maybe because he's your boyfriend."

"It was just a dream, 'Ro."

"I guess so, just be careful. You've been talking about this Kurt guy an awful lot lately. I'm pretty sure that's starting to irk Bobby a little. Now, you're having dreams about him."

"_A_ dream about him."

"Whatever, just don't tell Bobby about it."

"I won't, but I think you're overreacting."

-X-

Peter stepped out of his room and immediately noticed Bobby standing near the window at the end of the hall.

"Robert? Is something going on out there?"

Bobby's face was grim as he remained focused on the window. "Oh yeah. Something's going on alright."

Peter stepped up behind him and looked out to the Institute's back grounds. He saw Kitty laying a flower by the cross she had set up for her friend Kurt.

"What exactly?"

"Look at her, man. She only knew that guy for one freakin' day. I overheard her telling 'Ro that she had a dream about him. A dream, Pete!"

"Come on, Robert. People cannot control their dreams."

"Whatever. The fact is that she's still thinking about that Wagner guy."

"Robert. I find it rather disturbing that you could be so jealous of someone who is dead."

"I am not jealous! I'm just pissed! We're together! She shouldn't be dreaming about other guys!"

Peter sighed and began to walk away. "You know, Robert, I would think that if you had any confidence at all in your relationship with Kitty, you wouldn't be acting this way."

Bobby watched the Russian walk away and then turned back to the window. "What does he know."

-X-

As the sun began to set, Duncan's convertible pulled up to the front of the Institute.

"Well, here we are." He said as he turned in his seat to face Jean. "You were good today. I don't think too many people are going to want to face us in doubles anytime soon."

"You weren't half bad yourself."

Duncan looked her over. He payed special attention to her short tennis skirt. "Yeah, but I don't look near as good in my outfit as you do in yours."

She looked him over as well. "Says you."

Jean noticed him leaning in and gladly met him half way. Just as the two began kissing, Jean's cell phone rang.

The ringtone was a specific one. It was not a good one.

She quickly broke away from Duncan. "I'm sorry. This is important. I better get inside."

"Ok. We still on for lunch Sunday?"

"Of course."

"Alright. Until then."

They kissed one more time and Jean hurried inside.

-X-

Xavier knocked on Rogue's door.

No answer. Hardly surprising.

"Rogue, I know you're in there. Please let me in."

The door swung open and a very unhappy mutant teenager sent him a look that needed very little interpretation. "You knew!!"

"I did."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me!!"

"Can we take this inside?"

Rogue stood aside as the Professor wheeled in and then slammed the door. "Well?!"

"I felt you would panic. That you would no longer feel safe here and would try and flee."

"Oh, so you wanted to keep me here, huh? Didn't wanna lose one of yer X-Men?"

"Not at all. You were safer here than you would have been on your own. If you had left, it would not have been long before Eric's allies found you."

Rogue wanted to keep yelling, but she saw his point.

"I'm sorry that I deceived you, but I felt it was in your best interest. Am I forgiven?"

"I guess."

"Excellent. Now, hurry and change. There is need for the X-Men."

-X-

The X-Men assembled at the foot of the Blackbird's loading platform.

McCoy stood before them. "Alright, everyone, here is the situation. Last night in western Alberta, Canada, a group of deer hunters was attacked. They claimed to the local media that it was some sort of half-man, half-animal creature."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. We're investigating urban legends now, Doc?"

Cyclops looked over his shoulder at Iceman. Bobby took note and quieted. Kitty smiled as she nudged him with her hip and took his hand.

However, Bobby kept looking forward. Kitty bobbed her head around trying to look him in the eye, but was unable.

It struck her as odd. She knew a large reason he made smart-alec comments like that was to get a quick laugh out of her. Yet, he seemed to completely ignore her.

Kitty wasn't the only one to notice. Standing behind them, Peter saw Bobby's indifference. However, all he could do was frown. For now.

"Actually, Professor Xavier used Cerebro to confirm that the attacker was a mutant. However, this mutant's thoughts were apparently quite sporadic. He has identified his location and your job will be to confront him and try to peacefully detain him and bring him here."

Cyclops stepped forward. "Consider it done. Alright, X-Men, lets go."

As the team began to make their way onto the 'Bird, Iceman found that his arm was caught on something. Namely, His girlfriend.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Bobby merely shrugged. "Why would you think anything's wrong?"

Kitty reached up and placed her hand on his cheek and gently turned his head to face her. "Because you're not looking at me."

"What, I gotta look at you every minute?"

Kitty released his hand and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

She walked past him and into the jet. Bobby sighed and then followed.

After the X-Men were all onboard, the aircraft lifted from it's hanger and launched across the sky.

-X-

In the shadows of a snow-covered Canadian forest, a deer walked slowly across a small clearing.

It sniffed the ground, trying to detect grass underneath the blanket of white.

Suddenly, it's head shot up. It's ears lifted as it listened carefully.

Nothing.

As it returned to it's scavenging, a figure burst forth from a bank of snow to it's left. Before the creature could react, powerful claws penetrated it's skin.

The tattered visage of Weapon X rose over the beast. With one finally stroke, the mutant ended his prey's suffering.

Weapon X tore into his kill's flesh like an animal. Blood covered his mouth and chin.

A sound quickly caught his ears. He glanced upward as a jet, barely distinguishable from the dark night sky, passed overhead.

The mutant watched as the aircraft stopped and then hovered down for a landing.

-X-

As the Blackbird settled gently to the ground, Cyclops rose from his seat and faced his teammates.

"Ok, X-Men, listen up. Our objective is a peaceful confrontation. We need to find him, and then detain him with as little force as possible. Let's move."

Cyclops led the team down the loading platform and into the snowy surroundings.

"Everyone fan out, but make sure that another team member is in sight at all times."

The X-Men complied with their leader's commands.

Rogue walked into the woods with little regard for the location of her teammates. Her mind was elsewhere.

Eric Lehnsherr was alive.

He had not forgotten their history and he was not the kind of person that let things go.

-X-

_**Somewhere in the North-Western United States...**_

_**2 ½ Years Ago...**_

Marie watched the rain beat down on the window.

The young mutant sat and stared at her reflection in the glass. She frowned as she thought back on the last six months.

She wasn't really sure about this place or any of these people.

Mr. Lehnsherr was a nice man, but some of his "friends" were really creepy.

"Something the matter, my dear?"

Marie looked over her shoulder at Lehnsherr. "No."

The middle-aged mutant sat down beside her. "Come now. There is clearly something on your mind."

"I'm jus' a little homesick."

"You will eventually think of this place as your home."

"I guess. Mama ain't bein' much help. Where she been anyway?"

"Now that you are here and safe, your mother has returned to her work."

Marie cocked an eyebrow. "What kinda work?"

"That is not important. Now, onto a different problem. You need to chose your name."

"I have a name."

"You have a human name, which no longer has any meaning. You need a mutant name. One that represents you, not some long dead human ancestor."

"Well, I was kinda thinkin' 'bout Rogue."

Lehnsherr placed his hand on his chin and considered the name. "Yes. Yes, I think that name suits you."

The mutant placed his hand on her shoulder. "Very well, from this day forth you will be called Rogue."

-X-

A snapping tree branch jolted Rogue out of her memories.

She froze and glanced around. As far as she could tell, she was alone.

Staying in sight of her teammates as Cyclops had said was sounding like a good idea.

-X-

A few miles away, a soldier stepped away from a military jeep.

"Sir. The squad has identified several mutants in the area, but none of them is our guy."

His superior took a drag off a cigar and then flicked it into the snow.

"We don't want 'em getting in the way. Take 'em out."

-X-

As Rogue searched the area, she was oblivious to a small red dot that climbed up her coat and stopped at the back of her head.

Suddenly, Colossus burst from the nearby trees and threw Rogue to the ground.

As she landed in the snow, machine gun fire erupted from the woods. Dozens of bullets struck steel and ricocheted away.

As the Russian stalked closer to the source, a military jeep burst through the trees. It roared toward him at top speed while a soldier continued to fire.

Colossus simply stopped and planted his feet. The machine struck him with an incredible impact, but the mutant didn't move an inch.

The soldiers riding inside, however, were thrown forward. The driver smashed through the windshield and skidded to a stop in the snow.

The gunner flew over the top and landed hard. To his credit, the soldier still clutched his rifle and began to rise to his feet.

However, before he could go too far, Rogue delivered a vicious kick to the back of his head.

This time, he did not rise.

"What tha hell is goin' on?! Where'd these punks come from?!"

Colossus looked over to his teammate. "I am not certain, but I am willing to wager they are not alone."

-X-

Cyclops tilted his head skyward as a searchlight shone down on him. A helicopter hovered high above.

"What the..."

Before he could finish his thought, gunshots rang out.

He quickly activated his communicator, "X-Men, regroup, I repeat..."

Again he was interrupted as a vehicle roared over a snowbank and came barreling down on him. As a man in military fatigues aimed an automatic weapon, Cyclops fired an optic blast.

The shot connected with one of the vehicles tires, and sent it careening out of control.

Just before the jeep slammed into a tree, both passengers were lifted from their seats by invisible hands.

The men were placed gently on their feet...

...and were then violently thrown together, colliding with a sickening thud.

Cyclops turned to Marvel Girl. "I have to question whether that was necessary."

"Ok, but I don't have to answer."

Just then, the searchlight fixed in on both mutants. "Jean, take cover!"

Scott grabbed her arm as the two ran through the trees. Gunfire erupted from overhead and bullets rained down.

As the projectiles fell, Jean called upon her telekinesis and threw herself and Cyclops away from the area.

The rain of bullets tore through the trees and pulverized the area the two were standing in just a few seconds earlier.

The duo landed in the snow several feet away. The first thing they saw as they picked their faces up from the ground, was a pair of boots.

They looked up to see Storm's pale white eyes looking up at their attacker.

At her whim, the clouds began to pull together around the chopper. The wind picked up and snow began to beat against the aircraft.

Within seconds, the helicopter had to pull away.

Storm's eyes returned to normal as she offered her teammates each a hand.

Cyclops brushed snow from his jacket. "We need to find the others before more of these guys show up."

-X-

Bobby picked up a rock and tossed it into the air and pointed his palm at it.

A stream of white projected upward and engulfed it. He held out his hand and caught the now frozen solid rock.

He looked at it for a minute and then threw it into the woods. Iceman turned around to find Kitty right in front of him.

"Geez!" He exclaimed as he jumped backward. "Don't do that!"

"Are you going to tell me now?"

"Tell you what?"

"You know what."

Bobby simply looked at her and shrugged.

"What is the matter with you?!"

"I already told you. Nothing."

"You are so full of it!"

"Alright! Fine! You want to know what's wrong with me?! I..."

Cyclops voice interrupted. "X-Men, regroup, I repeat..." As the communication was cut off, gunshots rang through the trees.

Kitty listened closely, trying to determine how far away the shots were coming from. "We better head back to the 'Bird and meet with the others. Don't think for a second that we're done talking about this."

Iceman looked past her and saw three men with rifles emerge from the shadows. "Kitty, get down!!"

Shadowcat dropped to the ground as the soldiers opened fire. However, before any of the bullets reached their targets, Bobby unleashed a wide cone of frost that solidified into a thick wall of ice.

Bobby extended his hand down to his girlfriend. "Lets get out of here."

She took his hand and the two began to run for the Blackbird.

-X-

The whirling of the chopper's propeller's foreshadowed it's return.

Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Storm picked up the pace as the made for the jet. Suddenly, several more gunmen emerged before them.

Storm stopped in her tracks.

She summoned forth hurricane-force winds and unleashed them on her would-be attackers. One-by-one the soldiers were thrown backward.

Just then, the searchlight fell upon them again. Gunfire quickly followed.

As the trio dove for cover, Cyclops shouted to his teammates. "Jean! Can you catch that helicopter?"

Jean had to work to keep her hair out of her face. "Are you kidding me?!"

"What if Storm helps?!"

She looked up at the aircraft. "I...I don't know!"

"Now is not the time for 'I don't know's, Jean!"

"I..I think so!"

Cyclops quickly jumped out from behind his cover and reached up to his visor. "That's good enough for me."

A streak of energy shot into the sky, coloring the area with an eerie red light.

The blast struck the tail of the helicopter, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. The aircraft began to spin out of control.

Jean looked over to Storm. "Ready?"

Storm answered with a small tornado that rose up under the plummeting machine, slowing it's descent.

Marvel Girl called forth all of her power and focused it on her target. The chopper shuttered and popped under the pressure of the young mutants telekinesis.

Sweat began to bead on Jean's forehead. She closed her eyes and held her arms outstretched toward the aircraft.

"Scott! I...I can't!!"

Cyclops looked to her and saw that she was far to close to where the chopper would no doubt come to a crashing halt. "Jean, get away from there!"

"They'll die!!"

"You can't help that now!"

"I can't let that happen!"

"Dammit!" Cyclops ran across the clearing as the fallen aircraft barreled down on them. He tackled Jean just as the wounded vessel crash down in the snow and exploded.

The impact sent both mutants rolling down a steep incline. Cyclops lost track of Jean by the time he came to a thudding stop.

-X-

"Sir, the mutants are on the run but they have taken out the chopper and several of the men."

The commanding officer spit into the snow as he thought. "Alright. Call 'em off. As long as those freaks are gone, we can focus on finding our boy."

"Yes sir." The young soldier returned to his vehicle and picked up the receiver of his radio. "All units, fall back. Repeat, all..."

Something suddenly landed on the roof of his vehicle. The soldier slowly raised his head and found a disturbingly familiar pair of eyes glaring back at him.

"Colonel!!" The youngster began to draw his sidearm, but a quick flash from a set of metal claws sliced the weapon into pieces.

The soldier stumbled backward as Weapon X leapt down from the vehicle. He turned to face his superior.

He was horrified to find no one. "Colonel?"

A deep, hot pain in his back quickly made him forget about the colonel. As he spun back around, he saw blood dripping from Weapon X's claws.

He knew it was his blood.

The mutant stalked closer as the soldier slowly backed away. Finally, he made a break for it.

The young man ran as fast as he could. He brushed aside branches and leapt over bushes.

He had no idea where he was going and at the time, didn't care. He ran around a clump of trees and froze.

He was face to face with Weapon X.

The soldier just stared at the snarling man standing before him. After a few moments, he began to back away again, but this time, Weapon X was in no mood for a chase.

The mutant pounced on him and rose one set of claws high into the air and brought them down with all his might.

The soldier closed his eyes...

...but nothing happened.

He opened them slowly and saw the adamantium claws frozen in the air just a few inches away from his face.

Then he saw her.

A red haired young woman stood several feet away from them. She held one hand to her temple and had the other outstretched toward them.

He then realized that she was one of the mutants that they had tried to take out.

Weapon X sniffed the air and jerked his head toward her.

Jean started at his sudden movement, but did not release her grip. "I don't want to hurt you. We're here to help."

While the mutants' focus was on each other, the soldier began to feel around him to locate anything he could use as a weapon.

"Please. Leave him alone. We don't want anyone else getting hurt tonight. Just, please come with us. We can help you." Jean continued to try and talk to Weapon X, but he didn't seem to understand her.

Finally, the soldier felt something hard and heavy; a large rock. He gripped it in his hand and smashed it into Weapon X's head as hard as he could.

The rock shattered and yet Weapon X didn't move a muscle. Unfortunately, the sudden movement surprised Jean and the mutant took advantage.

He drove his claws down with all his might and broke Marvel Girl's telekinetic grip.

Jean could only watch horrified as Weapon X drove his claws into the young soldier's head. Just as soon as the claws were removed, Weapon X sprang to his feet.

He threw himself at Jean with all his ferocity. The psychic tried to stop him, but she was already tired and was easily taken down.

Weapon X pressed her head down to the ground with one hand and raised the other, claws out, to strike.

Jean was mentally and physically drained. All she could do was stare into his dark eyes.

Weapon X glared down at her, his claws poised for the killing blow.

Yet, there was something about her eyes, shimmering green as emeralds. Something stayed his hand, and yet he could not tell what.

It was terror he saw. Yet, he had seen it in Cornelius' eyes, in the young soldier's eyes, even in the deer's eyes, but this was different.

It was unthinkable to him, but it was almost as if he didn't want to harm her. But that was impossible. He was a killer.

His very reason for living was to end life.

And yet, the thought of killing, or even hurting, this person made him feel...

...well, made him feel.

Before Weapon X had a chance to understand what was going on, the sound of footfalls in the snow alerted him to a presence. He looked up to see a young man in a strange visor.

"Jean, don't move a muscle." Cyclops unleashed an optic blast that plowed into Weapon X and slammed him into a nearby tree.

Scott ran to Jean's side and pulled her up. "Are you alright?"

"I think so. We have to be careful, Scott. This guy is really dangerous."

The sound of snow crunching attracted the duo's attention. Weapon X pulled himself to his feet and let out a low growl.

Jean turned to her leader. "You shouldn't have pulled your punch."

Cyclops stared at the mutant in disbelief. "I didn't."

Just then, Weapon X ran toward them, claws out and drool dripping from his mouth.

Scott pushed Jean behind him and placed his hand on his visor switch. "I'm warning you. Stop now and come with us peacefully."

The raging mutant paid his words no mind and lunged forward. Just as he leapt into the air, a beam a red energy struck him in the stomach and launched him backwards.

This time, he slammed into the tree head first and cracked the trunk.

After Weapon X hit the ground, his claws slowly retracted as he slipped from consciousness.

Cyclops and Marvel Girl stepped over to the fallen mutant.

"Is he alive?" Scott asked.

Jean reached out with what little mental power she had left. "Yes. We should get him to the Institute before he wakes up."

As if on cue, the Blackbird soared overhead.

"Hey, guys. Need a lift?" Storm's voice emerged from their communicators.

Cyclops looked up to the 'Bird. "Perfect timing, 'Ro. Make sure a seat is reserved for our guest."


	3. Part Three

**X-Men: Alpha**

**Episode IV**

**Weapon X**

**Part Three**

Xavier wheeled into the infirmary where the X-Men were gathered.

Dr. McCoy stood by a table where Weapon X currently laid unconscious.

"He is stable, Charles, he seems to not have a scratch on him."

"Excellent." Xavier looked to his students. "Good work, everyone. The sudden appearance of a military unit could not have made your mission any easier."

Iceman let out a chuckle. "You think."

"They were after him, Professor, they had to have been."

"I think you're right, Jean. Given the lengths they were willing to go, I'd say he must be very important to them."

"I think I may know why, Charles." McCoy began. "He has incredible regenerative powers, a healing factor of sorts. Also, X-rays reveal that his entire skeleton is laced with a strange alloy."

"A metal skeleton?"

"Indeed. If my readings are accurate, this metal may well be adamantium."

"What's adamantium?" asked Kitty.

"It is the rarest metal known to man." McCoy answered. "After it hardens, it is supposedly indestructible."

Xavier moved closer to the table. "So, they tried to create the ultimate warrior."

"Actually, Charles, given the claws, I would hazard to guess they were trying to create the ultimate killing machine."

Storm looked the mysterious mutant over. "How old do you think he is?"

"I'd say he is in his early twenties. Twenty-two at the oldest." McCoy answered.

"Look at this." Storm removed a metal dog-tag from around his neck. "Wolverine? I guess that's his name."

Suddenly, Wolverine's hand shot up and snatched the dog-tag away from her. Storm jumped back as the mutant rolled off the table and landed on his feet. He let out a low growl and ejected his claws.

Cyclops reached for his visor switch and Colossus called forth his steel armor as the two stepped forward.

Xavier held his hand up to them. "Wait. Lets not be rash."

The psychic focused his powers and reached into his guest's mind.

"_There is no need for violence. We don't want to hurt you. You are safe here."_

Wolverine shook his head as if he were trying to shake the voice out.

"_You are not an animal. You are not a weapon. You are a man."_

The mutant retracted his claws and clutched his head.

"_They do not control you. You control yourself. Do not allow them to destroy what you are."_

Weapon X suddenly let out a thundering cry and then put his hands over his face.

Xavier cut his telepathic connection and watchedWolverine patiently.

Slowly, Wolverine removed his hands and looked around the room. His eyes were still hard and cold, but the animalistic intensity was gone.

As he panned the room, his gaze met with Jean's. He recognized her immediately.

She was the one he couldn't bring himself to kill, even though every impulse in his mind was telling him to do so.

Jean met his gaze at first but quickly looked away.

"Wolverine."

The mutant jerked his head around to face Xavier.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier. We mean you no harm. Is Wolverine what you prefer to be called?"

Weapon X continued to scan the room and then returned to Xavier. "Logan."

"Very well, Logan. You are no doubt curious about where you are and why. First, let me assure you that Department H will not reach you here."

Logan narrowed his eyes. "How'd you know about Department H?"

"It is just something I picked up while I was trying to help you regain control."

"You were in my head."

Xavier nodded. "I am telepathic."

"I think you better keep your mind to yourself, bub."

"Fair enough."

Wolverine again scanned the X-Men as they stood to the side of the room. Xavier realized that he was most likely perceiving them as a threat.

"Perhaps we could speak in private, Logan. I should be able to answer any questions you have."

Logan only offered a slight nod. Xavier turned his chair and exited the room the way he entered. Wolverine followed but spared one more glance in Jean's direction.

When their eyes met again, Jean could see a little more warmth in them than before. Yet, something about his gaze still made her uncomfortable.

-X-

"So what is this place anyway?" Wolverine walked down one of the Institute's luxurious hallways.

Xavier wheeled his chair alongside him. "Believe it or not, it's a school. Granted, it's a special school. Here we teach mutants to control their powers and use them to benefit humanity and mutantkind alike. However, I get the feeling you are more interested in your situation than our's."

"Well, when you're right, you're right."

"I could probably help you better if I knew your situation."

"Alright." Wolverine stopped near a stairway and placed his hands on the bannister. "Department H is the only thing I can remember about my entire life. No friends. No family. Nothing. Just Department H and their training."

"What is this Department H exactly?"

"You know about as much as I do. All I know is that they're some kind of military outfit and they're run by a guy named Wraith."

"I see. The training you mentioned, what was it exactly?"

"Armed combat, unarmed combat, survival skills, you name it."

"And what about the metal on your skeleton? And the claws?"

Logan turned to him with a confused look. "What are you talkin' about?"

The Professor raised an eyebrow. "You have metal grafted to your skeleton and three claws that extend from each hand."

Wolverine looked down at his hand. He made a fist and rotated it to see all angles.

After feeling a slight twinge, Logan flexed his wrist. Suddenly, his claws burst forth.

The mutant raised his hand and examined the weapons. A snarl slowly formed as he thought about the man he believed responsible.

"Wraith. You sick son of a bitch!"

"I take it the operation took place without your knowledge."

"I don't remember any damn operation!"

"What is the last thing you remember before waking up here?"

Logan thought for a second. "The redhead."

"Redhead? Jean?"

"I guess. I almost killed her."

"Thankfully, you didn't."

"Before that,..." Logan thought for a moment before his eyes flared in recognition. "Alkali Lake."

"Where is that?"

Wolverine just stared forward for a moment before responding. "I don't remember."

"Well, I suppose you've been through enough today. You must want to rest."

"Yeah. That'd be great."

"I'll have someone show you a room."

Xavier began to wheel away before Logan placed a hand on his chair.

"Make it the redhead. I think I owe her an apology."

"Jean has had a rough evening. Dr. McCoy will help you."

"It's your show."

As Xavier made his way back to the infirmary, Logan raised his hand again and glared at his reflection in the metallic claws.

"Wraith, you're a dead man."

-X-

Bobby opened his bedroom door and looked up and down the hall.

When he was convinced that no one was around, he quickly made his way down the hall. When he reached the stairs, he stopped and looked down.

No one.

He hurried down the stairs and turned the corner before stopping in his tracks.

Kitty's arms were crossed and a stern look was on her face.

"Damn!" Bobby exclaimed. "I mean...hi."

"Look. This is getting old. Now tell me what's wrong."

"It's not a big deal. Something was bugging me yesterday, but now I think I was overreacting."

"Ok, that didn't tell me anything. What were you overreacting about?"

"Nothing, alright. It's not important."

"Yes it is. Something was bothering you and I want to know what."

Bobby rubbed his temples. "Who cares! It's over, done, forget about it!"

"Listen to yourself, Bobby. You're yelling at me. Something is wrong. Talk to me."

Iceman threw his hands in the air. "Is that what Kurt would do?!"

Kitty's eyebrow cocked. "Kurt? What does Kurt have to do with..." Her eyes widened as recognition struck. "Oh...my...God. You're jealous of Kurt!"

"I am not jealous!"

"Bobby, he's dead!"

"I know, but that hasn't stopped you from dreaming about him!"

Kitty just stared at him for a moment. "What dream?"

"Don't play dumb! I heard you telling Storm all about it!"

"You were eavesdropping on me?!"

"Don't change the subject!"

"Ok, fine. I had a dream about Kurt. What's the big deal?"

"What's the big...?" Bobby stopped in mid-sentence and paced around for a moment in frustration. "You've been dreaming about another guy and you're asking me what the big deal is?"

"It was one dream, ok. It doesn't mean anything. Can you honestly tell me you've never dreamed about another girl?"

"That's different!"

"How?!"

"Because those are just stupid fantasies! Fantasies that will never and could never happen!"

"Well, what makes you think my dream is more than a stupid fantasy?"

"You've met the guy, known the guy, liked the guy and now can't shut up about the guy! Do you ever hear me talking about spanking you? No, because it's just a stupid fantasy!"

"Spanking me?"

Bobby froze for second. "I've said too much. The point is, there is a difference!"

"I still don't see it."

Bobby threw his hands in the air and walked away. "Forget it!"

"Bobby!" For a moment, Kitty began to go after him, but decided against it.

She had never heard of anything so ridiculous. How could he be jealous of someone who is dead?

"Kitty?" Storm poked her head around the corner. "Is everything ok?"

"He's jealous of Kurt! Can you believe that?! He overheard me telling you about my dream and now he's freaking out."

Ororo placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you guys will work it out."

"I hope so. By the way, he has dreams about spanking me."

Storm looked to her with a surprised expression."That's weird. So do I."

Kitty let out a quick laugh, but then noticed she was the only one. "You are joking, right?"

"Of course I am."

"Oh, good, cause that would have been a little weird."

As she turned and walked away, Storm slapped her on the bottom.

"Ow! Cut it out!"

Storm laughed out loud as Kitty scurried away.

-X-

Jean flipped through the pages of her history book.

She wanted to get all of her work done so that she would have all day tomorrow to spend with Duncan.

It wasn't going well. She was having a difficult time focusing on her studies. The events of the night before were still playing over and over in her mind.

Could she have saved those men in the chopper?

Could she have saved the young soldier?

Why didn't Wolverine kill her like he had him?

What's the deal with this Wolverine anyway?

The Battle of 1812 didn't seem that important at the moment.

"Afternoon."

Jean almost jumped out of her chair as Logan stepped into the library.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you."

"T-That's ok. A little jolt never hurt anyone."

Wolverine turned a chair around and sat down. "We were never formally introduced. I'm Logan."

"Jean Grey. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. So tell me, Red, how long have you been in 'mutant high'?"

"Red?"

"Yeah, like your hair. You don't like it?"

"I prefer Jean."

"Jean it is."

"Almost five years. Professor Xavier came..." Wolverine's gaze was starting to get to her. He was like a hunter sizing up his prey. "Listen, Logan, do you have to look at me like that?"

His expression didn't change. "Like what?"

"Like that. Like you're looking me over."

A slight grin edged Wolverine's face. "Well, I don't know if anybody ever told you this, Red, but you're pretty easy on the eyes."

"Thank you, but you're actually making a little uncomfortable."

"Do you believe in instant attraction, Red?"

Jean closed her book and looked him directly in the eye. "Yes, that's how I met my boyfriend."

Wolverine raised an eyebrow. "Boyfriend, eh?"

"That's right, my boyfriend. I have a boyfriend."

"What's his name?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Well, maybe not now, but it will be."

"When?"

"When you realize that you're attracted to me and ditch him."

Jean little out a short laugh. "A little full of ourselves aren't we?"

Logan merely shrugged. "Maybe, but I have noticed that despite the fact that I'm making you 'uncomfortable', you haven't left or asked me to leave."

She only looked at him for a moment, not sure how to respond.

"Attraction's a powerful thing, Red. Don't fight it."

Jean quickly gathered her things. "Attraction or no, I'm leaving."

"You just admitted an attraction between us."

Jean stopped at the door and looked to him. "I-I did not. Goodbye, Logan."

After she slammed the door, Jean leaned against the wall.

"_What a jerk! Me? Attracted to him? Ha! I mean, sure, he's handsome and rugged, and he smells surprisingly nice for a guy who..."_

Her eyes widened. _"Oh my God! I'm thinking about him!"_

She turned and hurried down the hall.

A few seconds later, the library door opened and Wolverine stepped out.

He looked down the hall to see Jean hurrying away. A small smirk crossed his face and he headed the opposite direction.

-X-

"The only Alkali Lake I have been able to locate is here," McCoy pointed to a section of the map on Professor Xavier's desk. "in Canada."

Xavier surveyed the map. "Only 200 miles from where we found him. That cannot be a coincidence."

"I should think not."

Cyclops rose from his chair and stepped over to the desk. "What's the objective, sir?"

"We need to know who is funding Department H and if there are any more mutants like Logan. We cannot allow military organizations to turn innocent mutants into weapons."

"I'm not sure how innocent he is, Professor. If I hadn't shown up when I did, he would have killed Jean."

"A result of mental conditioning that I was able to remove. We shouldn't have a repeat of such behavior."

"I hope not."

The door to Xavier's study opened slowly and Rogue peeked her head in.

"Oh, sorry. I'll come back." Her voice was soft and subdued.

"Nonsense, Rogue. Come in. Have a seat. Scott, Hank, if you could excuse us for a few minutes."

As Scott made his way out, he stopped next to Rogue. She seemed tired and scared. She hadn't quite been herself since the mysterious visitor.

"Hey," Cyclops said softly. "are you ok?"

"I'll be awright."

"Ok. If you need anything," Scott held her gloved hand. "you know where to find me."

Rogue looked down at her hand and then back up to him. "Thanks, Scott."

He smiled and gave her a pat on the shoulder before leaving the room.

She watched him leave and began to wonder if he was starting to feel something for her.

Rogue had received his compassion before, but he had never held her hand.

She realized she was grasping at straws, but didn't really care.

"You look like you didn't sleep at all last night."

Xavier's voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"That's cause I didn't." She sat down at his desk. "Every little noise freaked me out."

"I'm sorry, Rogue. If you like, I can use a little psychic persuasion to 'convince' your mind to rest."

"No thanks. I just can't deal with feelin' so helpless. I mean, if he wanted to come and get me, I couldn't do nothin' to stop him. I always knew you could protect me from his lackeys, but can you honestly tell me that you can protect me from him?"

It pained Charles to see her eyes begin to water. Even though she had been with him the shortest time...

...she was one of his children.

"I can guarantee you only this; if Eric intends to harm one hair on your head, he will have to step over my dead body to do so."

A tear ran down Rogue's cheek, but it was quickly wiped away by the sleeve of her shabby, green jacket. "Thanks."

"Think nothing of it."

Rogue let out a yawn as her head slowly lowered to the top of his desk. "I'm feelin' a little..."

She was asleep before she could finish her sentence.

Xavier smiled and stroked her hair. "Sorry, child, but you'll thank me once you've had a few hours of sleep."

He wheeled to the door, switched off the light and exited.

-X-

The bright light of the setting sun forced Bobby to shield his eyes.

He leaned against a tree in the back lot of the Institute. No matter what he tried to think about, it all came back to his problems with Kitty.

"_Am I taking this to seriously? Is she taking it to lightly? Is this all in my head? Can she really not see the difference?"_

"Robert?"

Bobby glanced over his shoulder to see Peter standing nearby. "What?"

"What are you doing out here?"

"Thinking. What are you doing out here? Looking for me?"

"No."

"Leaving lying to the pros, Pete. You got too much class."

"Very well, I was looking for you."

"Gee. I wonder what you want to talk about?"

"Robert, answer me honestly, are you jealous of Wagner?"

Bobby spun around to face him. "For the millionth time, no! How pitiful do you people think I am?!"

Colossus held up his hands. "Alright, Robert, alright. Calm down."

"I am not jealous, Pete. In fact, this really has nothing to do with Kurt Wagner specifically. It has everything to do with my relationship with Kitty. Wagner just happened to be the guy that revealed the problem."

"What is the problem?"

"Look, no offense, but when I talk about this, it'll be with Kitty, nobody else."

Peter nodded. "I understand. I'll be heading inside now."

Before Colossus got too far, Iceman stopped him.

"Pete, listen, I appreciate your concern, man. Right now, though, I think everybody just needs to butt-out and let me and Kitty settle this. If you could spread that around, that'd be great."

"I will. For what it is worth, I hope that you and Kitty can work this out."

As Peter walked away, Bobby turned back to the sunset. "Me to, big guy, me to."

-X-

As night fell over the Institute, the X-Men gathered in Xavier's study.

Wolverine stepped in and met the gaze of the entire group with a stern expression.

His expression changed to a smirk, however, when he locked eyes with Jean.

Though she looked away, she glanced back at him every so often.

When Xavier wheeled in and took his place behind his desk, the team gave him their undivided attention.

"Alright, X-Men. You have a new mission. Dr. McCoy and I have located Alkali Lake."

Logan cocked an eyebrow at the mention of the only other place on Earth he can remember being.

"You will go there and discover who Department H is and whom they answer to."

Cyclops took the lead. "You heard the Professor, suit up."

Xavier looked to his guest. "Logan, you are more than welcome to accompany them. You no doubts have great interest in returning to Alkali Lake."

Wolverine looked down at his hands. "You bet your ass I do."

-X-

"The Professor feels that you may have to make a hasty retreat, so I will be piloting the Blackbird."

Cyclops made a last minute adjustment to his visor. "Sounds like a good idea, Dr. McCoy."

McCoy headed for the cockpit as Cyclops stepped to the loading ramp. As Kitty and Bobby approached, Scott stopped them.

"Were leaving all our personal problems here, right?"

"Of course."

"Don't insult me, S-Man."

Cyclops nodded. "Just checking."

As the last of the team boarded, Logan stepped into the hanger. His eyes widened as he beheld the 'Bird.

"Damn. Where the hell do you people get this stuff?"

"Professor Xavier's a wealthy man. Before you board, we need to get something straight."

Wolverine cocked an eyebrow. "Do we?"

"Yeah. On these missions, we follow orders. Mine, the Professor's, Storm's, whoever is in charge. Think you can do that?"

Logan's expression turned grim and his gaze turned cold. "Yeah, I guess I can handle that." He stepped past Scott and into the jet.

Cyclops didn't believe him. He knew that as soon as they arrived, Wolverine would be calling his own shots.

The leader of the X-Men entered the Blackbird and the jet departed.

-X-

Deep in the bowels of a secret military facility, the commanding officer lit a cigar. He leaned in his chair as he contemplated what to tell his superiors about the lost of their Weapon.

The door to his office swung open as his second in command rushed in. "Colonel, we have an unidentified aircraft that has just landed nearby. We're detecting mutant life signs, sir."

The Colonel jumped to his feet. "I want every available man armed and ready to move out. If those punks have come back, they may bring our Weapon right to us."


	4. Part Four

**X-Men: Alpha**

**Episode IV**

**Weapon X**

**Part Four**

Snow swirled as the X-Men and their temporary ally approached a large snowbank. Cyclops peered over the bank and located several lights shining through the snow.

"There's a building over there, but I can make out any details."

"I could calm the snow."

"No, Storm. We have to operate under the assumption that they are the soldiers we fought last night. If so, they are aware of at least some of the powers we possess. We don't want to tip them off."

Wolverine stood several feet away from the rest of the group. He sniffed the air and listened through the wind.

Just then, he got something. A scent. He continued to sniff the air trying to identify it.

Jean took notice of his discovery. "Logan? What is it?"

The rest of the team turned to face the mutant.

Wolverine unsheathed his claws. "We're not alone."

Before anyone could react, fire spread around them at unnatural speed. In seconds, they were surrounded by flame.

Cyclops shouted to his teammates. "Storm, Iceman; put out that fire."

"With pleasure, S-Man." Bobby extended his arm and an icy blast projected toward the flames.

To his shock, however, the fire seemed to dodge his stream. It parted long enough for his ice to pass harmlessly by and then came together again.

"What the hell?"

Rogue watched with trepidation. She had seen fire do things like that before.

She ran to Cyclops and grabbed his arm. "Scott!! We've gotta get outta here!! Now!!"

"Stand your ground, Rogue. We're not going anywhere."

"A decision you will regret in the end."

A booming voice emerged from the darkness. Cyclops had heard the voice before but couldn't quite place it.

Rogue had no such trouble.

Cyclops felt her hands tremble as she clutched his arm. It then occurred to him to whom the voice belonged.

Surely enough, Eric Lehnsherr emerged from the trees. He had apparently traded his suit and trench coat for a helmet and a cape.

"Welcome to Alkali Lake, children. I hope you like the scenery."

Scott shook off Rogue's grip and stepped forward. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"My name is Magneto and I want you to open your eyes."

Iceman scoffed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I am talking about Xavier's ideological fantasy. His delusional goal of human/mutant coexistence."

"We're delusional?" Storm interrupted. "You're the one wearing a cape."

"I have no interest in engaging in petty squabbles. I have already determined that talking to you would be useless. Xavier's power over you is too strong. You must be shown your folly."

Iceman covered his skin in a layer of ice. "Bring it on, buckethead!"

Magneto sneered as he surveyed his adversaries. "Very well. Brotherhood!"

Several individuals stepped out from the shadows behind Magneto.

"X-Men, I would like you to meet the Brotherhood of Mutants."

"Toad."

A short, green mutant stood on the shoulder of a much larger one.

"Blob."

A disgustingly obese man eyed the team with anticipation.

"Pyro."

Flames danced around a skinny blonde mutant.

"Sabertooth."

An animalistic mutant stood close to Magneto. Claws extended from his fingers and a long mane flowed down his back.

"And Mystique."

A shapely, blue-skinned woman stood right next to Magneto, watching the team through yellow eyes. A gun was at one hip and a knife at the other.

"Brotherhood, show them the error of their ways!"

Magneto's mutants charged forward.

However, before contact could be made, two helicopters appeared overhead.

Magneto looked up to the aircraft and then over to Mystique. "I will deal with these vermin and that facility as well. You take command here. You know what I want."

The mutant rose into the air to face the choppers. He extended one hand to each of them.

Suddenly, the helicopters began to be crushed by invisible forces. Magneto spread his arms apart, then slammed them together.

The choppers mimicked his movements. Flying away from each other and then slammed into each other.

The aircrafts exploded, but did not fall to the ground. The flaming wreckage was plied and twisted together until they formed a giant, metal fireball.

With the object in tow, Magneto drifted toward the Alkali Lake facility.

-X-

With the copters removed the two groups of mutants focused on one another once more.

Cyclops stood in front of his teammates. "X-Men watch each other's backs. Don't let them separate us."

Jean glanced around and realized that someone was missing.

She looked to Scott. "Logan's gone."

"Forget him. Let's go!"

As the X-Men charged their adversaries, Rogue stood still; only looking upon her foes in terror.

Kitty realized her teammate wasn't moving. "Rogue? Rogue we're supposed to be attacking. Rogue?"

Suddenly, Kitty was struck hard as Toad planted both feet in her back, driving her into the ground. She was out before she knew what happened.

The green mutant bounced high in the air. "'ello there, Rogue. 'ow you been, luv?"

Toad landed in front of Rogue and licked his lips. "Wow. Look at you! If I were a few years younger...oh boy, I'd..."

Rogue balled her fist and drove it into Toad's face.

"Bad move, Toad. Yer the only one I ain't afraid of."

Toad picked himself off the ground and wiped blood away from his nose. "Maybe not, luv, but I know someone you're really, really afraid of, and she's right behind you."

Rogue's eyes widened. She slowly looked over her shoulder.

Mystique stood behind her with a smug expression.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Rogue."

The young mutant could only stare at the blue-skinned woman.

"Why so shy, child. Come on over here..."

"...and give your mother a hug."

-X-

Pyro's fire swirled around Iceman, but the young mutant was unaffected.

"You call that fire? I've seen worse."

"Oh, it will get worse, much, much worse."

Pyro projected fire from a small device on his wrist. The flames formed into a large dragon.

Bobby cocked an eyebrow. "I gotta admit, that's impressive."

The fire dragon swipped at Iceman with its flame claws, but the X-Man rolled out of the way.

As the inferno moved for another attack, Bobby summoned forth a massive stream of frost. The dragon began to fade as the ice extinguished the flames.

Pyro laughed as his creation grew smaller. "Do you really think it's going to be so easy?"

More flames projected from his wrist and the dragon split into two. Each quickly grew to the size of the first.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Iceman began to back away as he prepared to defend against the twin behemoths.

"Oh, I assure you this is no..."

Pyro was cut off by a loud thunder crack.

Dark clouds began to form as Storm stepped up beside Iceman. Rain began to pour on the dragons.

They were gone in a matter of moments.

"You think that's all I have? Well, I have bad news for you because..."

A lightning bolt struck the ground directly in front of Pyro sending him tumbling to the ground.

As the mutant picked himself up, an ice-encased fist was the last thing he saw.

-X-

Colossus ran toward Blob at full speed. Though he was covered in metal, the Russian moved with speed and grace.

He charged forward and put every ounce of might into a single blow. His fist connected with the jaw of Blob with a thunderous impact.

The obese mutant didn't move an inch.

Colossus was shocked as he stared at him. "How...?"

"Lemme guess, you've always been the strongest guy around, haven't ya? Welcome to the real world, kid."

Blob reached back and delivered a strike of his own that sent Colossus reeling backward.

Before he could even right himself, Blob picked him up and slammed him back to the ground.

Peter started to rise, but Blob drove his foot down into his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"I got news for ya, tin man," Blob mocked as Colossus struggled to get free, "this ain't even all my weight!"

-X-

Sabertooth dodged two streaks of red energy before leaping into the air and attempting to pounce on his attacker.

Cyclops rolled out of the way and immediately fired another shot.

The animalistic mutant sidestepped the blast. Cyclops fired two more, but with similar results.

Finally, Sabertooth attempted to leap at him once more. This time Scott was ready.

He fired a beam that drove into the animal's chest, sending him through the air. He landed hard and didn't move.

Cyclops surveyed the battlefield for allies in trouble. A few seconds too late, he heard footsteps behind him.

He turned just in time to be tackled by Sabertooth. After driving the X-Man into the ground as hard as he could, Sabertooth rose a clawed hand for a killing blow.

Before it could fall, Sabertooth was yanked away from his prey. He leapt to his feet to face Marvel Girl.

Jean called forth a force field and set her feet, prepare to fend off an attack. Sure enough, Sabertooth charged and slammed into the force field.

Marvel Girl stumbled back from the force of the attack. He was a lot stronger than she thought. Her force field was not likely to be able to withstand another.

"Jean!!"

She turned around to see Colossus flying toward her. Marvel Girl threw her hands forward and called upon her telekinesis.

She was able to catch Peter just before they collided.

Suddenly, Jean felt something hard strike the back of her head and then all was black.

The redhead fell to the ground as Sabertooth stepped up behind her.

Colossus rose to his feet. "Get away from her!"

Before he could take a single step forward, Blob rammed him in the back with incredible force.

The metallic mutant was thrown forward where he was caught by Sabertooth.

"Finish him off!" Sabertooth shouted as he tossed Colossus back to Blob.

The enormous mutant clinched his enormous fist and batted Colossus out of the air. The Russian skidded across the snow before coming to a halt.

After a moment, his metallic skin returned to normal.

"Hehe. What a lightweight." Blob chuckled just before an optic blast struck him in the back. "Ow! What the hell?"

Cyclops rose to his feet as Iceman and Storm came to his aid.

"We can take these guys, right S-Man?"

"Well, Bobby, we're sure as hell going to try."

-X-

Magneto hovered over the Alkali Lake facility. He scanned the area to find the best place for his flaming projectile.

"Ah. A fuel depot. That will do nicely."

Magneto raised his arms and flung the remains of the helicopters toward his target.

The wreckage crashed down on the fuel depot and triggered a massive explosion.

In a matter of seconds, most of the building was in rubble and the rest was on fire.

"Enjoy, humans." The mutant drifted away.

-X-

The explosion knocked both soldiers to the ground.

As the two made their way to their feet, they took notice of someone running directly toward them.

They started to raise their weapons, but with two quick flashes of adamantium, Wolverine dropped them both without even breaking stride.

The mutant kept his claws at the ready as he approached the facility.

"_I know you're in there Wraith, and I'm comin' for you!"_

Another guard stood in his way. This time, however, the guard opened fire and struck Wolverine multiple times.

Logan cringed in pain but didn't stop. He charged the guard and drove both sets of claws into his chest.

By the time he pulled the claws out, his bullet wounds were healed.

Wolverine slowed to a walk as he entered the building. The roof had caved in and there was fire everywhere thanks to Magneto.

Logan sniffed the air and caught a familiar scent. He darted through a hole in the wall and cut through the building.

He emerged on the other side of the facility. Several soldiers were climbing into the back of the only working truck remaining.

Wolverine ran toward them. The soldiers all raised their weapons.

"Hold your fire!"

Logan halted at the sound of the familiar voice.

The passenger side door of the truck opened and Jonathan Wraith stepped out. A cigar hung from his lips and three scars ran across his face.

"Finally decided to come home, eh Wolverine?"

"What the hell did you do to me, Wraith?"

"I improved you. Before you were unkillable, now you're unstoppable."

"I'm not your damn puppet anymore! You're not gonna make it away from here alive!"

"Is that so?"

Suddenly, a soldier popped out from behind a pile of rubble and pointed a rocket launcher directly at Wolverine.

Before he could react, the rocket shot toward him and struck him in the stomach.

The rocket took Wolverine with it as it slammed into the building and detonated.

Wraith smirked as a soldier stepped up beside him. "Do you think he survived, sir?"

"Oh, I know he did."

"Should we retrieve him?"

"No, we wouldn't have anywhere to put him if we did. Let's just get out of here before that mutant comes back."

-X-

Rogue stood cautiously as Mystique circled her.

"It's been almost a year, Rogue. Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Rogue didn't answer. She only kept herself ready for an attack.

"Oh, I know. I need to take a more familiar form."

Mystique appearance shifted into that of a middle-aged women with brown hair. "That better, Sugah?"

The new appearance made Rogue reflect upon a childhood that ended up being a tangled mess of lies and manipulations.

Her fear was temporarily replaced by intense anger. "You bitch!!"

Rogue charged her and threw punches and kicks at a ferocious rate. Nonetheless, Mystique parried and dodged them with expert prowess.

"You've gotten better, Sugah. I guess, that Xavier ain't lettin' you kids sit on yer hands."

"Shut up!! I hate you!!"

Mystique finally grabbed Rogue's fist as she attempted a strike.

In one fluid motion, she twisted Rogue's arm behind her back, removed her knife from it's sheath, reverted back to her original form, and placed the knife against Rogue's throat.

The young mutant struggled for a moment, but Mystique pressing the knife a little harder and twisting her arm a little more convinced her to stop.

"That's enough, young lady. You need to be on your best behavior. Magneto wants to speak with you."

At just the mention of his name, Rogue became perfectly still.

"That's my girl."

Mystique looked across the battlefield to see Cyclops standing alone against Sabertooth and Blob. All of the other X-Men lay strewn across the snow.

"He's doing quite well. Call his name."

"No!"

Mystique twisted her arm even more. "Do it!"

"Ahh! Scott!"

Cyclops looked their direction. "Rogue!"

Blob clubbed Cyclops across the back with his fist sending the X-Men's leader face down in the snow.

Toad hopped over. "'ey, 'ey. Look at what Mystique caught 'erself. She got a little runaway!"

The Brotherhood gathered around as Mystique released her daughter.

Rogue looked around in a panic. All of her friends were down and she was in the hands of the enemy.

"Why look so frightened, child?" Magneto drifted down to the ground.

"A-are you gonna kill me?"

Magneto seemed genuinely surprised. "Kill you? Why would I do that?"

Rogue only stared at him.

"I asked you a question, Rogue." His expression became very stern. "Why would I want to do that?"

"B-because..."

Magneto's eyes were as cold as ice. "Say it."

"Because I almost killed you."

-X-

_**Sacramento, California...**_

_**1 year ago...**_

Magneto stood before the courthouse. Days before, a jury had found a young mutant guilty of the murders of three humans.

The Brotherhood of Mutants was outraged that humans would dare imprison a mutant.

They had come to teach them some respect.

The other members were battling police and even National Guard units. Magneto and Rogue stood nearby, protected by his force field.

"Look at them, Rogue. Look at them scurry around like ants." He looked down to his youngest follower. "They are nothing."

Rogue saw the same thing, but didn't get the same enjoyment from it. It seemed like most of these people were innocent bystanders.

There was even a school bus full of kids even younger than her that had been stuck in the area when the fighting broke out.

"Sir, what about the school bus?"

Magneto looked toward the disabled vehicle. "Excellent idea, my child. It will be the perfect way to show the humans that we are without pity."

"That ain't really what I..."

The leader of the Brotherhood raised his hand and the bus rose with it.

"Here me now, humans! Your lives are no longer of any significance!"

Magneto began to close his fist. As he did, the bus began to slowly crush.

Rogue couldn't believe her eyes. The kids in the bus were crying and screaming and Magneto didn't seem to care at all.

"Wait, sir, you can't! You can't do this!"

"Silence, Rogue. I will not tolerate you questioning me."

Rogue grabbed his arm and tried to pull it down. "Stop it! They're just kids!"

The school bus lowered to the ground. Rogue let out a sigh of relief. She looked up at Magneto...

...and was struck hard across the face.

She fell to the concrete as blood dripped from her lip. She turned to look up at him.

"You will remember your place, you ungrateful little ingrate!"

Magneto returned to the bus and raised it off the ground once again.

Rogue watched the children beating on the windows, trying to escape.

She had to do something.

She removed her gloves and pulled Magneto's helmet off.

"What are you...?!"

Rogue touched his face with both hands. Magneto tried to grab her hands but didn't have the strength.

Magneto's incredible power was almost more than Rogue could bear. To stop him, she had to hold on longer than she every had before.

Just when it felt like she was about to explode, she pulled away.

Magneto fell to the ground and laid motionless.

Rogue stumbled backward and leaned against a nearby car. As she did, she caught a look at herself in the mirror.

Her bangs had turned white.

"Magneto?!"

Rogue turned to see Mystique fall to her knees beside her fallen leader.

"Magneto?! Eric?!"

The Brotherhood gathered around as Mystique tried to resuscitate Magneto.

"Mama. I-I had to, he was..."

"Kill her."

Rogue nearly stumbled backward at her mother's sudden call for her death.

"But...but Mama...I..."

Mystique looked up at her with piercing eyes. "I said kill her now!!"

The Brotherhood closed in around Rogue.

The young mutant panicked and called upon Magneto's powers.

She lifted into the air and flew across the sky.

-X-

"You betrayed my trust and turned your back on me after all I had given you. For that there is no forgiveness."

Rogue wanted to do something, anything, but her body just wouldn't react.

"Brotherhood; the others will live for now, but she dies."

Sabertooth grabbed Rogue by the hair and prepared to slash her throat with his claws.

"Hey, bub!"

Wolverine emerged from behind a nearby snowbank. His clothes were tattered and torn, but he didn't have a scratch on him.

"Why don't you back off before you lose something? Like a hand."

Magneto narrowed his eyes. "Careful, brother. As of now you have done nothing to incur my wrath, but side with these traitors and you will be one yourself."

"Well, I'm not one of them, but I got my eye on that redhead over there. She'd probably be pretty bummed if I just let you kill one of her people."

Wolverine unsheathed his claws and walked toward them.

"Metal claws. Interesting." Magneto extended his hand and Wolverine froze in place. "It's all through your body, isn't it."

Magneto slammed Logan into a tree and then another and another, before finally tossing him into the woods.

"Well, that was amusing. You may precede, Sabertooth."

Sabertooth didn't seem to hear what was said to him. He looked up into the trees.

"Sabertooth?"

"We're not alone."

The Brotherhood looked around but saw no one.

"Enough. Finish this." Magneto commanded.

Suddenly, Dr. McCoy dropped from the trees and landed directly behind Magneto.

Before he could react, McCoy removed his helmet.

"Give me that you..." Magneto looked around and saw that the world around him appeared to be frozen solid.

"Eric."

Magneto spun around to find Xavier standing before him. "Charles? What the devil are you doing here?"

"I'm not there. I'm at home, but thanks to Cerebro, you are well within my reach. You see I promised Rogue that I would not allow you to harm her."

"You promised more than you could deliver. Have you ever considered running for office?"

"They will all go free, even Rogue."

"Never."

Xavier raised an eyebrow and Magneto clutched his head in pain. "They will all go free, Eric."

"Alright! They go free!" The pain in Magneto's head subsided.

"Excellent. Dr. McCoy will be keeping a hold of your helmet, just to be sure."

As quickly as it froze, the world jumped back into motion.

The Brotherhood advanced on McCoy.

"Stop!" Magneto's command halted his followers. "Release her, Sabertooth. We go, now."

"But..."

"I said now!"

The Brotherhood obeyed his command. Sabertooth threw Rogue down. Mystique gave her a cold glare. "I'll be seeing you again, darling daughter."

Rogue watched them disappear into the shadows.

"Rogue. Are you alright?" McCoy knelt down beside her.

"I think so."

"Good, I'm going to need your help getting everyone else onto the Blackbird."

-X-

Rogue sat outside the infirmary while the others were checked out by Dr. McCoy.

She hadn't thought about her past that much since coming to the Institute, but now it was all she could think about.

She would see them again. Magneto, the Brotherhood, her mother, they would all return.

Her fists clinched as she thought about their next encounter.

Next time, she would not be so afraid.

Next time, she would not be so weak.

Next time, they would pay.

-X-

"I'm sorry that Wraith eluded you." Professor Xavier sat behind his desk as Wolverine paced in front of it.

"He was so damn close! Bastard!"

"What will you do now, Logan? You are more than welcome to stay with us, should you choose."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I've gotta try and find out a few things. Maybe, get myself another shot at Wraith."

"Very well." Xavier wheeled around to the front of the desk and extended his hand. "It has been a pleasure, Logan. I do hope we meet again."

Wolverine shook his hand. "Count on it. I've got a reason to come back."

-X-

Kitty rotated her wrist as she left the infirmary.

It hurt when she did it, but for some reason she kept doing it.

She stepped into the hallway to find Bobby leaning against the wall. "Hey."

He looked up and Kitty saw that his expression was as serious as she had ever seen it. "I know this may not be the best time, but we need to talk."

"Ok."

The couple left the hallway and stepped into the study. Kitty sat down and prepared herself for what was sure to be a colorful tirade.

Bobby paced around for a moment. He seemed to still be working out what he wanted to say.

"Why don't you sit down?"

"I'd rather stand."

"Then I'm standing to."

"Fine." Bobby stopped pacing and took a deep breath. "Ok, Kitty. I've been thinking about things and I've determined the problem."

"I'm all ears."

"When we were doing all of our training, our schooling and our socializing in this building, we all had very limited options. We had no choice but to hang out together and become friends."

Kitty nodded absently as he continued.

"I didn't like S-Man at first, or Storm, or even Pete, but I had no choice but to get to know them and like them, because they were the only people I knew."

"I didn't like you at first."

"Nobody did. As time past we all just kind of fell into place together. If we wanted a friend, we had only a few people to choose from. If we wanted...more than a friend, we had even fewer to choose from."

Kitty's eyes narrowed. She didn't know where this was going, but she suddenly had a sick feeling in her stomach.

"I guess what I'm getting at here, is that..." Bobby hesitated for a moment as he grappled with his words. "...I don't really think you chose me, so much as...settled for me."

Kitty was taken back by his statement. "Bobby! How could you think that?!"

"Let's look at the evidence, Kitty. You knew me for two years before we got together. Two years. You know this Wagner guy for a few hours..."

"Twenty-seven of the longest hours of my life!"

"Fair enough. Twenty-seven hours and he's already about as high, if not higher, on your list than me."

"No, he's not!"

"Fine! Look me in the eye, Kitty. Look me in the eye and tell me that if he were here right now that you would still be with me."

She looked him in the eye. As they gazed at each other, Kitty remembered Kurt's smile, his laugh, and the way he did everything he could to protect her from the harsh realties of their situation.

She thought of her dream and how badly she had hoped to have another like it.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she arrived at her inevitable answer.

"I...I can't."

Bobby hung his head. It was the answer he had expected, but that did nothing to lessen the blow.

"I'm obviously not the guy you want. According to how you described Wagner, I'm not even the kind of guy you want. I can't wait around until you find someone better."

Tears were now streaming down Kitty's face. "W-What are you saying?"

Bobby tried to keep his eyes from watering, but failed. "I saying...I'm breaking up with you."

"What?! No! Bobby, we can work this out!"

He simply shook his head

Kitty broke into a full sob and ran from the room, not even stopping to open the door.

Iceman stood frozen for a moment before sitting down and staring at nothing.

-X-

The next morning, the X-Men were summoned to the Danger Room.

After the team gathered, Scott stood before them.

"Alright, everyone. Today, we're going to be going through several different scenarios including..."

"S-Man," Bobby interrupted, "I'm really not in the mood for this crap today."

"Me neither." Kitty added while intentionally not looking at Bobby.

"Scott, it does seem like now would not be the best time."

Storm agreed. "Peter's right, Scott. Even without the...social awkwardness, we're all pretty banged up."

"Yeah, and I have plans with Duncan in two hours and I need to..."

"Enough!!" The volume and tone of Cyclops' voice caused the others to fall silent. "Enough excuses! In case you people didn't know it, we faced the enemy last night! The real enemy! The very enemy that we were assembled to face! If your bumps and bruises don't tell the story, allow me. We got our asses handed to us! We confirmed every fear that Professor Xavier had. We were not ready."

The X-Men silently watched their leader.

"I'm going in here, anyone who has anything better to do, can go do it."

Cyclops turned and entered the Danger Room.

Rogue quickly followed.

The others began to slowly filter in.

Storm turned and noticed Jean walking away. "Jean? Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah. I just need to call Duncan and cancel."

Jean walked to her room and found Wolverine waiting outside it.

He carried a duffle bag and wore a fresh change of clothes.

"Hey, Red. I was afraid I was gonna have to leave without saying goodbye."

"You're leaving? Where are you going?"

Logan smirked. "Now, why would you care about that?"

"I didn't say I cared. I was just curious."

"So maybe we can go out for dinner when I get back."

"Logan, I have a boyfriend."

"You won't when I get back."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. Call it a hunch."

"I know another name for it."

Wolverine started down the hall. "Well, I'll see you around, Jean."

"Logan."

He turned to face her.

"Be careful out there."

"You to, Jean." He turned to leave again.

"Logan."

Again, he stopped and turned around. "Yeah."

"You can call me Red if you want."

A smirk edged his face. "Thanks, Red."

Jean watched him walk down the hall and out of sight.

-X-

Miles away, Wolverine's departure was closely observed.

"Data log: This is Department H lookout point Alpha. Target: Xavier Institute. Mission: gather strategic information on inhabitants. I will ensure that the next time these mutants engage Department H...

...we will be ready for them."

Coming Up:

Episode V: A Woman Scorned


End file.
